Mission Status Unknown
by Alora Yuy
Summary: 1x23x4 Duo loses his memory in a tragic yet dashing and honorable accident while we learn of a new side to the emotionless perfect soldier Heero Yuy


-May 24th, 197 A.C.-

It had been over two months since any of the young Gundam pilots had gotten a mission.

Quatre and Trowa were housed in an underground city somewhere in the Sahara with the Maganacs

Wufei had been in the Swiss Alps, with Nataku, waiting for his next chance to fight. He lived in the cockpit of Nataku, having nowhere else to stay. He spent his days meditating and training. At night he would train in the moonlight, and occasionally walk to the nearest town for provisions.

Heero had somehow found his way to an abandoned OZ base, and was taking this opportunity to try and get into some old files. Though he was quite healthy after the last battle, and he was also pleased with his commendable discovery of this OZ base, there was still a pain from inside him. For once he longed for his Love… He longed… for Duo.

Duo had been missing since their last battle; which was strange for the American boy, considering he was always like a leech, attached to Heero practically 24-7. But Heero longed for Duo. At the end of the battle, Heero almost cried at what he saw… Deathscythe Hell Custom exploded.

-January 12th, 197 A.C.-

A mobile doll attack on the five Gundam pilots, out side the L18947 colony, had just started.

The fight was going smoothly. One by one the mobile dolls were demolished, sometimes two at a time.

Quatre and Trowa were, of course, fighting near each other. Wufei, as always, was zipping through space, taking up as much room as possible. He was always quite contemptuous, even though he made it seem like he wasn't. Then Duo and Heero were fighting within relatively tight proximity of each other. Duo was mostly just making sure Heero wouldn't do anything stupid.

Suddenly, while Duo didn't have his eyes on Heero, all the mobile dolls, which weren't already busy, turned and started heading right for him. More than 60 mobile dolls were flying straight for Heero. He did not notice most of them till it was too late. And though, he was probably about to die, he gritted his teeth, loathing the mobile dolls, and yelled out to them.

Duo, hearing the yell, turned to the appropriate monitor, and upon seeing what was going on, screamed out, "Heero! NO!!!" Duo cursed, and flew his Gundam at max speed to get to his love in time.

Duo sped through space, his heart pounding. Only two thoughts ran through his head. What he would ever do if he lost Heero. And what Heero would think if he actually pulled this stunt off.

Both sides would end up with a negative. But, Duo just couldn't sit there and watch Heero die, or even get fatally injured. It just wasn't the right thing to do, especially if Duo loved Heero. And for that reason, he would sacrifice anything and everything to show his invariable compassion for Heero.

Never the less, through any circumstance, he had to save Heero.

Duo zipped through space like nothing could stop him. Nothing actually could stop him. His love was in fatal danger, and he had to save him.

Duo's heart pounded and thumped quickly like a scared little rabbit. His brow was wet as he zoomed towards Heero, carefully planning how he would save his love. And he wondered what would happen if he didn't make it. He definitely knew that he would never find another like his Heero.

Heero was everything to him. Heero was his sun, his moon, his stars, his soul, and his life. If Heero died, it would be like a part of him died as well. Duo couldn't lose his only love. There was no one else but Heero.

He knew his love for Heero would continue on, even if he were to lose him. His love would never deteriorate and he would not succumb to frivolous temptations by any other man or woman.

Though there were only two positive results that would happen, those being that Relena wouldn't hit on Heero anymore, and Duo wouldn't have to see Heero push him away.

But aside from the only two good points, Duo could think of a thousand bad points. He would never get to see Heero's face anymore, even though his visage always seemed to show a very callous expression.

He made up his mind. Duo would risk his life to make sure Heero was safe.

Duo screamed out "HEERO!!! HANG ON! I'M COMING!!!" and raced on towards his love, letting not even a small flash of near-by battles distract him.

With only moments before the mobile dolls reached the distance to where they could fire, and almost no time for Duo to reach Heero, a miracle seemed to happen as Deathscythe sped up and reached Wing Zero

Deathscythe pushed Wing Zero out of the way just as the mobile dolls opened fire. Heero's eyes went wide, and his cobalt blue eyes seemed to glitter as he saw the horrifying sight. Deathscythe literally blown to bits!

This display of unprecedented compassion left Heero feeling a little apprehensive. And, for the first time in his life, Heero began to cry. Of course, after he shut down all communication lines.

-May 24th, 197 A.C.-

Heero continued to stay at the abandoned OZ base, as the heart wrenching pain occurred each day when he did anything to remind him of Duo.

It was normally the simple things that reminded him of Duo. Things like; a brush – which he remembered nights he spent running his hands through Duo's hair. A black shirt – Heero never owned a black shirt, and it was the only color Duo would wear, usually. Or even just a simple drinking glass – the one Duo always used; the one with the little bats on it.

One time, while working on his Gundam in April, he thought he almost heard Duo. But it turned out to be his hopeful imagination. Every night he dreamed about him. He yearned for Duo. He felt awful too. Because, it was partially his fault though it seemed like it wasn't at all.

Duo was such a sweetie-pie. He risked his life for the life of his love. He cared enough about his love to throw Heero away from the blast, and throw himself into the line of fire. Heero just could never grasp this concept of sacrifice, and this degree of love.

But now, more than ever, Heero longed for his braided baka. Normally, Duo's sunny persona, and cheery attitude, would get on Heero's nerves. But now he longed for him. It was like a craving that one gets for alcohol or tobacco. He craved Duo. He had Duo withdrawals. Yes, withdrawals. No other word could explain it as well as withdrawals.

You, as the reader, could understand how someone such as Duo could be so addictive. He has that sunny disposition, that silly, yet warm smile, that cheery and let-loose attitude. He has that "I'm-not-going-to-do-anything-cause-it's-always-Saturday-for-me-and-I'm-Duo" attitude. He had the perfect personality, that adorable face that no one could really say, "no" to. And on top of all that; he had the braid; those wonderful locks of hair that he and Heero adored so much.

Now of course, Duo would normally never save Heero like that. I'm not saying he wouldn't, I'm just saying that his mind, for some reason, never worked that fast for those types of things. And if anything, Duo would care too much for Heero and for anyone on his side.

But as Heero sat in waiting, as if hoping something or someone would come to find him, he wondered why the mobile dolls waited to attack.

Had OZ paid that much attention to him and Duo? Did they plan to weaken Heero by eliminating Duo? Did they anticipate Duo's move to risk his life and save his lover's? Maybe that's all OZ wanted to do for that battle. To distract pilot 03, 04 and 05, use pilot 01 for bait, so as to weaken him when pilot 02 was demolished.

Quatre, Trowa and Wufei had noticed Heero's reckless and out of control behavior after the attack. It was a wonder that all of OZ's mobile suits didn't just get out and attack Heero while he was weakened.

Yes, looking back, it was definitely a quiet, lonely, and sad day in outer space indeed. For, the Gundam pilots feared that Duo had died.

-June 2nd, 197 A.C-

Howard had sent out an invitation to all the Gundam Pilots and the Preventers, for a little get-together on the newly remodeled PeaceMillion.

He had gotten a reply from Wufei, Quatre and Trowa, Heero, Noin, Sally Po, and Milliardo. It even seemed that Relena somehow found out, and had invited herself to come along as Heero's "date".

She was still in denial to the mere thought that Heero could love anyone but her. And she was so ignorant to all hints that both Heero and Duo had given her. She thought of Heero as her only one and her as his only one. It was pure denial. The facts were as clear as day, yet she insisted on them being fake.

Howard had not paid much attention to Duo's absence of replying to his e-mail. But, at the party, he became worried when 2 hours into the event almost all the food was still there. He thought Duo just wanted to make an 'appearance' by surprising him, and thus, why he wouldn't have replied.

But still, 2 hours had gone by and no sign of Duo. Howard started to question where he was. He asked Quatre and Trowa. They didn't know. Or they didn't seem to want to tell. They didn't have any contacts with any of the Gundam pilots after the last battle. He asked Wufei, and, as always, he didn't care. Howard asked the rest of the Preventers, and they did know. Finally he asked Heero.

"Why does it matter? He'd only eat the food and get completely drunk. He'd only make a fool of himself in front of the rest of us", Relena said, cutting off Heero.

"Well, it does matter. He was one of my best friends. And I'm worried about him. He didn't respond to my invitation, and he hasn't shown up yet" replied Howard. "Do you know where Duo is, Heero?"

Heero shook is head, maintaining his cool composure as he remembered explicitly what happened. Howard nodded. "I see. No show of our braided buddy"

"I haven't seen him since the last battle," said Heero, closing his eyes and lowering his head slightly, while the golden-hared girl clung to his arm.

Quatre, who was close by, heard Heero and remembered the day of the battle. Quatre suddenly clutched his chest.

"Are you all right, Quatre?" asked Trowa, standing a watchful guard.

"I remember."

Howard rose a brow at Quatre "You remember what?"

"I remember what happened to Duo"

Everyone seemed to go silent and looked on at Quatre. Heero didn't look; he already knew what had happened to Duo. Relena seemed to look at Quatre with hope, as if hoping that the news would be bad news. She hoped the news would be of Duo's demise. She was very twisted, and hardly fit the title of "pacifist."

Quatre continued, "His Gundam exploded in the last battle," everyone remained silent, while Relena seemed to grimace so wide that stretched across her entire face. Quatre went on, "as we left, I saw the cockpit of his Gundam remaining in space. I detected no life… I'm not sure if he was just unconscious, in a coma, or if he actually…"

"That's horrible," Howard said. _This is wonderful_ Relena thought. And Heero had even more a reason to not 'go out' with Relena. He had triumphed over his own private battle with Relena, but had lost the war against all with his love. There was no longer a reason to be 'with' anyone.

Heero shoved Relena away, and then ran off to where his Gundam was. He quickly prepared for launch from PeaceMillion. After hearing that Quatre had seen part of Deathscythe remaining, he decided to go out and look for it, in hopes of finding his love. Whether Duo would be alive, or dead, he just wanted to find him.

Relena ran after him, trying to catch him, but was too late. Heero was too determined to find Duo. Nothing could stop him. Quatre had collapsed, sensing the worst for their fellow comrade. The Preventers, excluding Wufei, knew that Heero would eventually accomplish his new mission. Howard on the other hand, was a little skeptical to say the least.

-June 3rd, 197 A.C.-

"I just can not believe that Heero would parade off like that!" Relena exclaimed while talking to Paigen. She whirled about, turning her back to her butler as she faced out the window, standing behind her desk. Perfect posture, perfect level head, hands held behind her back.

"Ma'am," Paigen started, "If I may say something."

"Go ahead"

"Thank you Ma'am. But if I may be so blunt in saying; maybe Sir Heero has lost interest in you."

Relena blinked, wondering just what he was getting at. Her own butler! Her dearest friend! The only person she could turn to for a pat on the back! And now he was implying that Heero would not like her? _Ridiculous_, Relena thought, _Of course Heero still cares for her._

Paigen continued, "Possibly, your constant searches and events of tracking him down have bored him. Maybe it is possible that you are becoming irritating in the eyes of a fine pilot like himself."

Relena could not believe her ears. The one person, who was almost like a father to her for all these years, and ridiculing her. Trying her make her feel like she had lost? Trying to make her feel like Heero did not care anymore?

"You may go now Paigen." Relena said with a slight glare. "I will not need you anymore today"

Paigen bowed, and then left silently.

Relena could not believe her ears. And this did not at all agree with her heart and mind. Heero was hers! She was Heero's! She turned back and then sat down into her chair. She flung strands of her dirty blond hair over her shoulder and sighed. "Heero does care about me. Duo has just brainwashed him. And even though Duo is dead, Heero is still under his spell."

The young pacifist looked over her desk, noticing the large pile of forms, and whatnot, to go through. She sighed, put her elbows on the desk and rested her chin in her hands. She wondered to herself, when Heero would be back from his fruitless search for Duo's corpse.

-June 6th, 197 A.C-

Back on Earth, Trowa had returned to the circus with Catherine, who was more than excited to see him. Though at the same time, she was a little furious because of him leaving her before.

Quatre had decided to go see Trowa's performance, and was quite enthusiastic to say the least. Quatre was SO enthusiastic, that he bought not only popcorn and a drink, but cotton candy, honey roasted peanuts, and some cheesy souvenirs.

Trowa of course was keeping a watchful eye on Quatre the whole time. Before the show, he would peek out of the backstage curtain and watch him. During the show he would be looking at Quatre through his bangs and the mask the entire time.

Was it out of love that Trowa did this? Was it that he wanted his blonde love to stay safe? Or was it that he wanted to watch how excited Quatre got, while watching him with no shirt on? Whatever the reason, Quatre was very hyper, which made Trowa chuckle slightly every now and then.

After the show, Quatre promptly ran to the backstage area to congratulate Trowa on a good performance.

"That was terrific Trowa! And even after being away so long, you are still great", Quatre said, seeming like he had too much sugar.

"He sure is a wonderful guy. Too bad he's run away from us so often." Catherine walked up and but in to their conversation.

"I must agree with that Miss Catherine. He is very amazing. I can say that because of experience," Quatre replied to Catherine's mothering town.

Trowa just looked on at them, staying silent. Though over the conversation, he had moved over to be next to Quatre. Quatre looked up at Trowa and smiled, while he wrapped his arms around the tall slender boy's waist.

Quatre at this time was 17, and Trowa was 18.

Catherine blinked at Quatre, wondering what exactly he was doing. Has he gone crazy? Catherine thought. Then it came to her when Trowa put his arm around Quatre's shoulder. She had always been curious about why Trowa acted so distant around her. And come to think about it, around any girl. Yet he seemed to be more open when around men, young men, but only the very attractive ones. "I see"

"Catherine." Trowa said with his calm and gentle voice, "I'm sorry I hadn't told you before. But, I thought you would have noticed."

"Oh yes, I noticed. I noticed alright. Well, I have to clean some of the cages before we move to the next town, I guess I'll leave you two alone." And just as that was spoken, Catherine quickly jogged off, as she normally does, not seeming to care at all.

"Did you see her Trowa? She isn't upset about us at all! I told you they would accept us somewhere."

"What do you expect? Living in a circus your whole life, you sorta get used to all kinds of things."

"Yeah, I guess you're right Trowa."

Quatre rested his head on Trowa's chest and closed his eyes, smiling, happy just to be held by the one he loves; when suddenly, Quatre felt a horrible pain in his heart. He screamed slightly and his knees collapsed. He fell into Trowa's embrace.

"Quatre, are you alright?"

Quatre breathed heavily from this recent attack of pain. He grabbed his chest, gritted his teeth and held his eyes closed tightly. "I can feel something terribly wrong. It almost feels like Duo, but it isn't the same"

"Quatre, what are you talking about?"

"It's Duo. I can feel him. He is in pain. He is very confused. It must be a side effect from the explosion"

"Where is he? Can you tell?"

"He's… he's…500 kilometers due west of here."

"West? In America? Of course, he would find his way here."

"We have to tell Heero!"

-June 14th, 197 A.C.-

Duo was in America.

After he made it back to the earth, by taking a public shuttle, he found his way back to his home-country. But all for not, for just as he was walking through the park minding, his own business, OZ arrested him for the murder of a 12-year-old girl. That's the story they gave him. The truth was that they wanted him to lead them to the other Gundam Pilots.

But Duo didn't understand how he could have been charged of murder, especially when he couldn't remember killing anyone ever before. He actually couldn't remember much of anything.

"I remember being woken up once I was on a shuttle. The people, whom I first saw, said that I was found in some wreckage in space. I told them that I remembered America. They put me on a civilian shuttle and sent me to America. And then you arrested me. That's all that I remember", Duo said to the accusing OZ officers.

"Do you remember your name?" an OZ pilot named Swei asked.

"My name is Duo Maxwell. Any idiot could remember his name."

The OZ accusers labeled him with amnesia, and deduced that it would be impossible for him to find his fellow Gundam pilots again. Though, contrary to first conclusions, Treize gave the order to keep him, saying that the others would come for him. And while Duo was there, they were also given the order to train him as an OZ pilot.

And so it came to pass that Duo became a top OZ pilot, and was heavily rewarded for his acts of bravery and strength.

-September 8th, 197 A.C-

Duo was called into Treize's office. Duo made sure to be dressed in perfect attire. He had his uniform pressed and cleaned so that he could make a good impression. He acquired new gloves, and new boots. After Duo was pressed and pampered, braid piled high in a bun under an OZ hat; he walked into Treize's office. He bowed stiffly and respectfully with his right arm bent and curved in front of his waist. He then presumed neutral position.

"Do you know why I have brought you to me today, Maxwell?" asked Commander Treize Khushrenada.

"No, I don't know, Your Excellency," replied Duo, trying to be as respectful and still noble at the same time.

"I have called you here to tell you what an impressive job you have been doing as of late. You have been with us only 3 months, and are already a first rate pilot."

"Thank you, Your Excellency"

"Maxwell. Since I have noticed how well you have done with us, I have decided to upgrade you to Commander of the Front Line Troops.'

"Thank you very much, Your Excellency." Duo saluted Treize, and stood rigidly with acceptance of his new mission. "I promise I will not let you down."

"Let's hope not, Duo."

-Same day-

Heero had searched for days. Days turned into weeks, and the weeks into months. Four months had now gone by, and there had been no sign of Duo. It was as if he had disappeared out of the galaxy like That! There wasn't even a trace of gundanium floating around from the remains of Deathscythe Hell Custom.

Heero almost lost hope. It had been 5 ½ months since the day Duo disappeared. Heero felt as if he was going to go mad. He turned and gazed at every braid he saw. Every person dressed in black. Every person with long chestnut brown locks, every single person who had a bright cheery smile reminded him of Duo.

Every thing that reminded him of Duo cut him like a piece of glass. That feeling of emptiness consuming his heart and insides even more than ever, growing stronger. But this time was different from others. It was different from the memory of the girl and her dog. It was different than the feeling when he self detonated Wing Zero. This feeling was of millions of pins and needles piercing his heart; one by one, slow and strong.

_I can't let this consume me. I am supposed to be the perfect soldier. I cannot let this feeling of heartache and emptiness consume me! I will not succumb!_ Heero thought. He reminded himself of this many times, repeating it over and over to himself, so that he wouldn't break down and give up. He couldn't give up. If he loved Duo, he would never give up.

He loved Duo, and he still did. He knew he would love Duo until the day he died. But… something suddenly crossed his mind; what if he never found Duo again? What would he do? No! He would find Duo again! And he must find Duo again! It just would be right if he never found him again. It would be as if he had given up, failed, and totally humiliated himself and his title as a perfect soldier.

"Perfect soldiers are excellent detectives. I'm an excellent detective. I can hack into any system and find out anything that I need to know. I can find Duo, and I will! I will hack into all the files at every Hospital in the world, every Police file in the world, every death and funeral file, and every…"

Heero suddenly froze. He thought that OZ might have him. OZ! Of course OZ would know what Duo looked like. Some of the OZ officials were almost as clever as Heero, as far as hacking went. OZ had files on the Gundam Pilots anyway. Treize certainly knew what Duo looked like. Treize certainly knew what Heero looked like as well, for that matter. And if that's so, Treize may know what all the rebels all over the world looked like.

Treize was certainly very intelligent. He knew what all those he killed looked like. And he knew all of their names on top of that! He could remember mountains of things, so he could definitely remember what all the Gundam pilots looked like.

Besides that, OZ would have found Duo no matter where he was. And if Duo was in any sort of state, other than all right, OZ would have been able to overcome him easily.

More thoughts, as far as what could have happened to Duo, crossed Heero's mind. Things like, "What if they're using Duo to get information to the location of the Gundam Pilots?" "What if they have already killed Duo?"

Heero shook his head, "Treize wouldn't want to kill such a great pilot. He would probably brain wash Duo to be his own little minion."

Heero had decided. He would rush back to Wing Zero, get onto his laptop, and start hacking away. He would first search the OZ files, which was the most likely place he'd be. Heero would then go to the Mortician's report files, then to the Hospital, the Police, and finally to any hotels.

-September 15th, 197 A.C-

Relena humphed loudly as she gazed over her papers. Being such a highly acclaimed politician gave her a lot of responsibility and a lot of paperwork. But, she didn't mind it all too much. It was an ok life style, as long as she made some progress towards peace.

"This is insane!" Relena yelled out as she slammed her palm down onto her desk from a standing position. "Heero hasn't shown himself for over 7 months! He is really starting to aggravate me."

"Still no messages from Master Heero, Miss Relena?" Paigen said as he set down a cup of tea on Relena's desk.

"Yes… still no sign of him, Paigen. And it is really starting to annoy me. He dashes off without a word, in search of his 'love', doesn't contact anyone and he hasn't been on any computer for months. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he was avoiding me, or someone else."

"It's quite possible, Miss. After all, he is 17 now. He is almost an Adult, and has been living on his own since he was a little boy. He doesn't exactly need anyone to watch over him."

"Paigen… I did not ask for your commentary. And besides, I do not need negative judgment on a person that I know a little bit more than you."

"I'm sorry Miss. Would you like any lemon with your tea?"

"No, thank you."

Suddenly the door bell rang. Someone was at the door. Relena obviously thought it was someone asking her to speak at a political rally or an Alliance meeting since she gave a sigh of annoyance.

"See who is at the door, Paigen" said Relena as she turned to look out her window. Her window faced she ocean and the west, so she could almost always watch the sunset over a glistening sea.

Paigen left the room and went to see who was at the door. He was astonished to find that it was Duo, dressed in a fine OZ uniform with a small cloak attached to the collar. His hair was not trailing behind him like it normally was; instead it was piled high in a bun, and under a slightly larger OZ hat.

"Why! Master Duo! How good it is to see you again! Are you in charade? Oh, Miss Relena will be very happy to see you again."

Duo raised a brow slightly. He did not remember Paigen at all. "I'm sorry, Sir, but I have no recollection of our meeting prior to now. I am First Class Officer Duo Maxwell. I am here to speak with Miss Dorlian."

"Of course. Right this way." Paigen led Duo up to Relena's office.

When they reached the door, Paigen asked Duo to wait until he announced him to Relena. Relena was waiting patiently in her office. She was expecting some stuck-up, thick-headed man who wore flashy clothing, sporting a foolish accent. Well, she was in for a surprise to say the least.

"Miss Relena, an OZ officer is here to see you." Paigen said with a soft head bow once he entered.

"Of course… Send him in and tell him to sit in front of my desk." Relena said without even moving. She brought her left arm up and sent him away with her hand. "After you have sent him in, you may go about your duties. I do not want anyone hearing anymore of my private conversations of politics"

Paigen nodded and proceeded to let Duo in. "Please have a seat, Sir. If there is anything you need, Miss Relena, I will be in the den, dusting." He said this, then closed the large double doors and left.

"Ma'am," Duo began, "I'm here to invite you to a private meeting between political leaders of OZ, the Alliance, and a few other well known parties."

Relena blinked, recognizing the voice very well. She turned her head over her shoulder and saw him. She turned eyes slightly wide. Duo just looked back at her and raised a brow.

"Excuse me, Ma'am? Is something wrong?" Duo questioned as he stood there, not bothering to sit down.

"Duo? You are Duo are you not?" Relena asked as she looked him over. "Where is your ridiculous braid? Have you finally cut that horrid thing off?"

Duo blinked, confused more than ever. "I'm sorry, Ma'am. I've never met you before, so I am very curious as to why you knew my name. And, no, I have not cut off my braid. It is pulled up in a bun under my hat. Now, tell me how you knew me."

Relena tilted her head to the side, and then turned back to the window, grinning wide. _This is absolutely perfect! He remembers what his name is, but he does not remember me. I could use this to my advantage. As long as he doesn't remember Heero, or any of the other Gundam pilots for that matter,_ she thought

She turned back to him and smiled. "Well, I read about you in a paper. Such a new OZ officer and already at such a high rank! Your uniform displays your rank beautifully. Now, may I ask if you remember Heero Yuy? Or perhaps Quatre Winner or Trowa Barton?

Duo nodded in thanks at her compliment on his uniform. He crinkled his brow down a little as he thought, and then shook his head. "No, I do not remember any of them. Of course, I was treated with amnesia when OZ brought me in."

"Amnesia? Oh, that's awful, Mister Maxwell. Please, sit, I am sure your legs are tired from standing so long. Sit and we can discuss everything." She smiled with the courtesy of an elegant princess. Duo smiled and took a seat as Relena took a seat in her own chair.

-September 20th, 197 A.C.-

Heero sat on the ledge to the cockpit of Wing Zero as he tapped away on his laptop. He had been searching OZ files for a long time. OZ had updated their system, and gotten more people to keep up on the security of the files. Needless to say, this wasn't a picnic like most other times.

If they had Duo, they didn't put it on file or they had it hidden under a totally random file. It wasn't that Heero wasn't a good hacker, because he certainly was, it was that OZ was training people to hack professionally, and now it was a little more difficult. More passwords, more codes, more secret languages, more commands, and more files to direct through.

He did find a file on a new recruit that was acquired not long after Duo disappeared. Since the recruiting time was during the summer and winter and Duo disappeared in the spring, it was very suspicious.

Not only was that suspicious, but OZ had not issued any new arrests of rebels, which was very odd for OZ. On top of that, OZ didn't try to capture any colonies. It was odd, as if OZ was saving up strength to fight back for the big win.

People thought peace had been obtained, but OZ wanted and needed power. The people were happy now, OZ was not. OZ was not happy with what they had. OZ was never happy with what they had.

Heero continued through files, when suddenly he kind of stumbled across a file labeled, "FCODMaxwell." He recognized the Maxwell, and had to look into it. Surprisingly, it took him almost 5 minutes to get into this file alone.

Once into the file, he saw a picture of Duo, and a full 4 pages of information on him. He read through all of the information, and knew it was all lies. Though, at the bottom of the file, it said he had amnesia when he was found, and has not remembered anything except for his name.

"Amnesia? So… that's why he didn't send me an e-mail." Heero shrugged and saved the information from the file onto a disk. He then promptly sent an e-mail to the three other Gundam Pilots, to the Preventers, and to Howard.

Heero sighed and hung his head. His eyes closed and two tears ran down his cheek. This was the second time he had ever cried, at least to what he remembered. Even though it was only two tears, he still cried. He wept softly over his discovery. Since Duo had amnesia, it would mean he wouldn't remember anyone. Duo wouldn't remember him, nor any of the other Gundam pilots. He wouldn't remember Noin, Howard, or Hilde.

Heero shook his head then looked up and over to the sunset. He had set his Gundam right on the beach on a west shore. There was just the right amount of clouds so that the sunset would be gorgeous.

Somehow, the sunset reminded him of Duo. Bright, cheery, so many different colors. But, at the same time, so sad when it goes away, when it disappears, when it leaves. Heero thought now that he would never get Duo back again, especially when he had amnesia. The only way to get him back would be to jog his memory. The question was how he was going to do that.

Heero smirked and uttered, "A swift kick to the head oughtta do it."

-Same day-

"Then it is settled." Treize said, while at the same time asking.

"Yes. When I spoke with her, she seemed very willing to agree." Duo replied, standing up straight, perfect posture, as if he had been doing it his entire life.

"Hopefully everything will go according to plan."

"Relena took the bait quite well. She thinks she is coming to a meeting between top OZ officials, Alliance members, and so forth, to be on a panel."

"Very good. And with much luck, Heero will follow close behind. I want his Gundam. Such a wonderful piece of machinery; I must have it."

"Heero? Heero Yuy?"

"Yes. Heero Yuy. A young pilot of a remarkable mobile suit; a Gundam. He's only 17, and has been able to withstand a very difficult system; the Zero System."

"Relena mentioned a person by the name Heero… it sounds so familiar."

"It's quite possible that you knew someone named Heero before you lost your memory. Or it only seems familiar."

"I'm almost sure that I have heard it before. It seems very familiar…"

Duo shrugged, wondering where he had heard the name Heero before. He tried not to let it bother him much as he walked back to his quarters when Treize sent him away.

Duo plopped down onto his bed and thought more about where he had heard the name Heero Yuy from.

There was a knock at the door. It was a fellow by the name of Prion. Duo got up to answer the door and was kind of shocked by who it was.

"Prion? What are you doing in this section of the base?" Duo asked, peeking around the door slightly.

"I came to deliver some things for you. I know it's been a while, but the men found more of the spacecraft you were found in, and they uncovered some of your things. I thought you would like to have them." Prion replied with a stiff salute, then signaled down to the large suit case.

Duo blinked, then opened the door wide so he could see the suit case. Duo's hair was down, already out of his hat and his braid. No body knew Duo even had long hair. Prion was surprised to see that he had such beautiful long hair.

"First Class Duo? Is that a wig you are wearing? It's a very realistic one if it is." Prion commented, curious about the hair nobody knew about.

"No… this is my own hair. I just keep it in a bun under my hat all the time." Duo replied then walked and picked up the suitcase.

"I think they were able to recover all of your things from the space craft. Well… at least the ones that were in one piece. Maybe they'll help trigger your memory."

"Yeah. That would be nice. Well, thank you Prion. Thank you for going out of your way to deliver these for me. Though, I'm sure it wasn't just out of courtesy that you did this, right? How much did they pay you to do this?"

"Nothing. I was paid nothing to deliver these items to you, Duo. Since I first met you, I could feel something strong about you. I also really admire you for your courage and your pride. You lost your memory almost completely, yet seem to carry on as if nothing happened at all. I really admire that about you Duo."

"Well… thank you very much, Prion.. It's very nice of you to say that. I try to keep a steady head about any trouble that comes along. And, it seems to me like I always have done that. But of course, I could have been the class nerd in a rich and fancy household, with an Olympic sized pool, and my own horse. But, I also could have been an orphan who stole to get his daily bread. You never really know. Especially when you've lost your memory."

Duo smiled and shook Prion's hand. Prion thanked Duo again, then left to return to his studies.

Duo returned into his room and sat down on the bed, putting the suit case next to him on the bed. He then opened it and blinked at the contents.

"All black? Wow, I must have been quite a guy. Hmmm." Duo continued to look through the items, finding a few pairs of pants, some shirts, socks, shoes, and hair ties. Lots of hair ties. "Wow… I must have really liked putting my hair up…"

-September 23rd, 197 A.C.-

Trowa had gotten a leave from the circus for a week or so; whatever was needed to find Duo. He and Quatre were heading toward an abandoned air base in Nebraska, where Quatre had felt Duo, in an old army vehicle Trowa managed to acquire.

"Do you think he's all right, Trowa? He has been missing for quite a while." Quatre queried, then commented.

"6 months and 12 days actually. And yes, I'm sure he's all right. He was an orphan and stood up against OZ when he was only 7 after all. He can take care of himself." Trowa responding almost in monotone as he continued to drive down the abandoned freeway towards their destination.

"I'm sure it's Duo that I sense… but it feels a lot different. It feels almost foreign."

"Foreign? What do you mean, Quatre?"

"I don't know… It feels like the same cheery Duo we know and love… yet something's missing. Something important, something meaningful that would be terrible to lose."

"You mean like his mind?" Trowa smirked slightly.

They both knew that Duo could go a little overboard at times, but he was never actually forgetful. He just gave across the impression of being a little…"blonde," at times.

"I'm not sure what's missing… I just know he's not the same. He's different." Quatre replied after a short pause to think.

"Are we heading in the right direction, Quatre?" Trowa asked as he merged onto the next freeway via an over pass through a small down in Colorado just before the border with Nebraska.

The air base in Nebraska that OZ had taken over was just inside the state line. They were close, and Quatre could feel it.

"Yes. This is the right direction. We're only about 16 kilometers away now. It shouldn't be much longer. I can feel him closer. He's in some kind of pain. Not physical… mental and emotional."

"Then maybe we should hurry, so we don't get there too late. For all we know, OZ could be using Duo for medical research, or they're implanting radioactive signals into his brain."

"Trowa… please. My heart can't handle the thought of one of our friends being tortured."

"Quatre… you made the Zero system didn't you? Or at least were the first to use it. You were almost able to handle it. Surely you can handle a few thoughts about what our comrade is going through. I know you don't want it to be true, but it can't be helped if that's what's happening. I mean, of course we can try our hardest to save him, but we don't have our Gundams. And if we do plan an attack, we'll have to hijack a couple Taurus suits."

"Trowa… you have such a way with words. So logical, and so smart. I think that's why I love you so much, Trowa."

"I love you too, Quatre. Aishiteru, Koi."

-Same day-

Duo rustled through the things Prion brought him, for the 24th time. He couldn't believe some of the things he found.

"So many pictures. I don't remember any of these people. Though… they look somewhat familiar… especially this guy in the green tank top. He looks really weird… scruffy, like he desperately needs a shower."

Amongst other things in the trunk, he found many black articles of clothing; pants, shirts, tank tops, hair ties, socks, gloves. He had many hair ties, which he figured that he really liked his hair now and before he lost his memory.

Only four minutes later, he screamed, a horrible pain gripping at his mind. He doubled over and held his head tightly. It passed after ten seconds and suddenly he remembered something else.

"Maxwell Church… The priest… and the nun. I remember. How is it I didn't remember them? Such an important time in my life and I forgot… I forgot about it…" he sighed and hung his head, almost as if he were praying, ashamed that he forgot about the only place where people cared about him when he was young.

There was a knock at the door; Prion.

Prion knocked again, speaking through the door. "First Class Maxwell, is there anything wrong? I heard a scream coming from in your room. Is someone in there? Were you attacked? Open the door."

Duo looked up at the door, hearing and recognizing the voice, he smiled faintly. "I'm fine, Prion. The door's unlocked."

Prion blinked. No one ever left their door unlocked, especially not Duo. But, he proceeded to walk inside, closing the door behind him. "Are you ok, First Class Maxwell? I heard a scream. It sounded like your scream."

Duo chuckled softly then stood and walked to Prion. "It's ok. I was watching a movie on my personal computer. A horror movie. It's perfectly fine, it just startled me."

"But… it sounded like a painful scream, First Class Duo."

"It's alright, really; and please, just call me Duo."

"Very well, Duo. I'll leave you to what you were doing," he said and then exited, closing the door behind him.

Duo sighed slightly and then walked to the door, locking it. He turned and then leaned against the door, holding his head, wondering what that was.

"This has never happened before. How is it that my head starts to pound like such, now? The doctors said they were prophetic… but they didn't predict this happening. No. I will not let this bother me. I am an elite OZ soldier, loyal to Treize Khushrenada."

Duo asserted this, and then grabbed his cap, stood up, and piled his hair into a quick bun, covering it with the cap. He walked to the door and then left his room, making sure the door was locked when he left.

-Same day-

"Please… please. Will the electorate come to order? Thank you for your generous words of wisdom General Vente. It was very commendable of you to speak your mind like that in front of such an unruly crowd," Treize said as he finally got the meeting under control again.

"Treize Khushrenada. Now that we have been in a situation of peace for well close to 2 years now, there must be something done that can assure everyone that peace will be maintained," Relena said as she stood from her seat.

Treize nodded as another political leader stood and spoke in.

"The people can not be expected to maintain peace on their own," said Lieutenant Walker from the Alliance military unit.

"I have heard a lot of people saying they would like a strong leader to rise up and lead them," General Vente added in sharply.

After these brief comments were shared, the whole room began to talk amongst themselves, asking questions, pointing at people and talking about them.

"Ladies and Gentlemen... You all have a valid point which I am sure we would all like to hear. But, unfortunately we can not hear from all of you tonight. I believe that what Miss Dorlian, Lieutenant Walker, and General Vente have said tonight are very valid. And if we would all agree on choosing a leader, we can do it here. We are an electorate, and thus hold the power to vote for a leader to guide us all through any future hard times we might face," Treize spoke up again, to calm the crowd yet again.

"Is that really what the general public wants, Colonel Treize?" another voice from the group asked.

Treize replied to this, his speech far from inarticulate. He always believed that to speak so not everyone could understand you, was unethical.

In the back of the large room, Duo stood against the jamb of the door. He stood there completely silent and motionless.

Heero had found out about this little meeting by hacking onto Duo's mail at the OZ base he was at. Now, Heero was just mere meters from walking in on the event. Right before he stepped into the entry-way, he saw something to encumber his ability to walk any farther. He saw Duo standing there, looking at Treize silently with a quite insipid expression on his face.

Heero tried to contain his rejuvenated emotions for Duo; and found it was a very hard task. Heero could not go right up to Duo, because he knew Duo had amnesia. Heero could not kid-nap him, because it would cause a commotion.

Heero's eye was then caught by another sight; Relena, standing to add in another comment. He felt his stomach churn. He didn't exactly enjoy this sight. Witnessing Duo was much better, though his braid was not there, or at least unable to be seen. But Heero found it very hard to look away from the disgusting sight of Relena. He couldn't figure out why, though.

Duo was right there, and yet Heero couldn't do a thing about it. He was staring straight at Relena, while she added this to the room, "Why can't we form something along the lines of a triumvirate. It would be better than a monarchy. And I do agree that we need more than a few hundred different people each with another view."

The gathered men and women in the room again started to whisper to each other. Some nodded their heads and some were pointing fingers at Relena.

Relena knew a lot of them would still choose her to be one of the leaders, if this approach were to be taken. She didn't much like the idea of having so much power, though it thrilled her in a strange sadistic manner. She always acted so sweet, but she always was quite sadistic.

Treize nodded then added to the rising commotion, "Then maybe it would be best for us to vote. All in favor of a triumvirate say 'aye'." Most of the people replied to this. Treize continued, "All in favor of 'nay'?" few people responded to this one.

Relena lowered her head to the small bit of paperwork she had on the desk she was given. Heero shrugged, and knew this would lead to more hard times, and again, he would be needed, along with the other Gundam pilots. Duo did nothing but stand there. He had no memory of anything called Gundam, other than they were OZ's rivals.

"Yes, then there will be a Triumvirate. Now we must decide who is to be part of the triumvirate," Treize added in, as he was the leader of this meeting.

Duo added, "I nominate Colonel Treize Khushrenada as a member of the triumvirate to the nations." Heero blinked when he heard this, not expecting Duo to add in such like this. However, he did know that Duo was a member of OZ, or until he regained his memory.

A member of the Alliance seconded the nomination, which put him up for final voting. And no sooner was his nomination seconded, that another nomination for General Vente was put up, and then seconded. Then a nomination for Relena followed, and was seconded by about 15 members from different groups.

Heero sighed softly and walked over to a ventilation shaft, climbed up into it. Then followed it until he was in another room, vacant at the time, which looked into the board room, where the meeting was in progress, through a double sided mirror. He sat in a foldaway chair, looking down at the meeting, trying to find Duo.

He didn't see a braid, but then realized that Duo's braid wasn't able to be seen. Either that, or he had it cut off after OZ found him. So, it was obviously much harder for Heero to find his better half. He was wearing an OZ uniform, and looked like everyone else in that part of the room. Oh well, Heero could find him, and quite easily too.

He did find him, and he spent the entire meeting staring down at Duo. The sight of those beautiful violet eyes. The now dull violet orbs which used to glitter and shine every day. The eyes that gave Heero hope to survive the missions, not just because he was ordered too.

Heero even realized he had followed orders his whole life, and took his time with Duo as opportunity to give the orders. Heero was very dominating while around Duo. Heero once, even, made Duo bark like a dog to get some lovin' that night.

Yes, Heero loved Duo greatly, he would even stop one of the soldiers and steal their uniform so he could stand in there and listen closer to Treize and other members in the room.

But he was happy to just sit here in the room, with the double sided mirror, where he could see everything that was going on. He could even hear every single word. There were many microphones set up all over the board room, and there were a few speakers placed in the room he was in.

Heero sat, watching Duo the entire time, sitting in the foldaway chair, and contemplating his next move. His own personal mission was to bring Duo back with him, and try to bring back his memory. He didn't know how he'd do it, but he knew he had to.

He sat up abruptly when he heard the knob to the door starting to turn. There was also a sound as if the door was being unlocked. Heero sat and put his hand on his gun, just incase it was an OZ officer. He also ran and stopped behind a tall bookcase, peering around the side of it at the door.

The door opened, Heero clenched his hand over his gun, holding it tightly, waiting for his chance. But something stopped him, the sound of a familiar voice; "I got it open. Stop leaning on that wall and get in here." It was Quatre's voice.

Heero said out loud, "Quatre?" He lifted his gun up, just incase it was not. He hoped that this person, if it was an OZ officer, would think it came from the speaker.

Quatre, stepping in a few feet, he stopped and blinked, hearing the voice. "Hello? Is someone here? Who called my name?" Quatre asked. Trowa stepped in, and stood about a foot and a half behind Quatre.

"Quatre. What's wrong?" Trowa asked as he put his hands in his pockets after setting his backpack on the ground.

"I heard someone-"

"Quatre!" Heero spoke again, cutting off Quatre. He continued, "If that's you Quatre, I want you to look down into the meeting room. Look towards the main door to the room, opposite Treize. On your left side, who do you see standing against the door?"

Quatre started to say Heero, but was cut off when Heero continued. Quatre walked to the window, and looked where he indicated. Trowa looked to the corner Heero was in. He had seen his shadow shift as Heero put his gun away.

"Who is that? I don't recognize him. It… Oh god," Quatre clutched his chest. "It's…"

"It's Duo," Heero added in as he walked from the corner towards Quatre. Trowa continued to stand around the middle of the room.

"Where is his braid? Did he cut it off?" Quatre asked.

"Well… I'm not sure. I've only been here about half an hour. You have quite impeccable timing. I was actually about to go 'find' an OZ uniform so I could go down there and get Duo."

"We can't jump to do anything, Heero. I know you're hurt that this has happened to the one you love. But he has amnesia, we all know this, and we can't just go up and take him, whether you're in a uniform or not," Trowa added in as he walked forward, placing a hand on Heero's shoulder.

Quatre smiled then, somewhat, leaped forward and clung to Trowa's waist. Heero nodded, and then looked down at Duo, hoping he had not cut off all that wonderful hair. Those beautiful chestnut locks which Heero loved to run his hands through.

"Well… what can we do? We have to get him away from OZ. Think we could get him out of the base long enough to 'detour' him?" Quatre asked, clinging to Trowa's waist. Trowa by this time had casually crossed his arms over his chest.

"Relena. Instead of her butler taking her home, we could give Duo a note, make it seem like it's from Treize, telling him to tell Paigen to go home and that she will stay a little while longer. Then have Duo escort her home," Heero said as his mind came up with a quick feasible plan.

"How would that work? We would have to capture Relena as well," Trowa added in.

"She wouldn't mind being captured by Heero," Quatre said, as if suggesting something to Heero.

Heero rolled his eyes at Quatre then continued, "We would get Duo on his way back. Trowa, do you know how to fly a helicopter?"

"Yes. I learned a while back when I was with the mercenary group. You mean, take Relena in an OZ helicopter, have Duo sit in the passenger area with Relena, and have us flying it?" Trowa assured then asked.

"Yes. That's the plan, basically. Though… I will stay at the abandoned OZ base where I have been lately. You and Quatre will take Duo. I can't bear to see him yet. It's been too long, and I'm going to go to his room he has here, and get his things. I heard they found some of his stuff from the wreckage of Deathscythe, so I'm going to get those things and bring it back to the abandoned base."

"Are you sure you don't want to come with us, Heero?" Quatre asked, putting a hand forward to Heero's chin. His finger tips just brushing the edge of the boy's chin. "Duo won't remember you, so you don't have to worry about him clinging to you in front of Relena."

"That's not the problem. It's that I don't want to see him in close vicinity to Relena. I'll be fine. Don't worry. Here's the coordinates for the base I'll be at." Heero handed over a slip of paper with the coordinates on it, and some other information.

Quatre took the slip of paper while Heero walked over to Trowa's bag and took out a laptop and some cables. "Hope you don't mind I borrow this, Trowa," Heero said as he walked to a wall and set up the laptop to plug into OZ's system at this base. Then opened the laptop and turned it on before Trowa even had a chance to respond.

"No problem, Heero. You're a friend of ours. We'll be seeing each other soon, anyway. No worries," Trowa assured as he watched Heero start to use the laptop.

Quatre un-clung himself from Trowa and walked over to Heero, leaning over and looking at the laptop screen. He was reading the code on the screen. "Looking for where Duo's room is and how to get in?" Quatre asked. Heero nodded.

"Yep. The rooms are opened from the outside with a keycard, so only the user of the room can get in. There is also a keypad you can use if the keycard is not working at the time. I just need to find the code for that room so I can get in," Heero said, reassuring Quatre that all would be ok and work out fine.

Quatre knew Heero was an excellent hacker, one of the best in fact. Quatre also knew that Heero would be able to find his way out of any circumstance.

"Ok… I've got the code I need for the door, now I need the… never mind, I've got the directions to the room. I have everything I need from here. Thanks for the laptop, Trowa. It helped."

Trowa nodded and just stood there, same as always. Then he walked over and wrapped his arms around him from behind so he could embrace the blonde boy.

Heero then promptly turned and walked over to the door, opened it and turned back to Trowa and Quatre. "One last thing… It might be best that you don't take too much time talking to Duo. Just take him, and bring him to the coordinates."

Trowa and Quatre nodded and then Heero was gone. He had quickly turned and left the room, leaving the door open.

-Same day-

Heero walked toward a training facility inside the OZ base. There were many OZ members there, but Heero reminded himself that he would get to a uniform and go through the halls without question. And he did… and he did it by climbing into a ventilation shaft, again.

He climbed through the intricate ventilation shaft towards the OZ locker room. He would go into the locker room, break into someone's locker and take their uniform while they were busy training in their cute little gym outfit. He was heading to the trainees' locker room. He knew that the smaller trainee outfits would fit him better than the big, baggy, adult-sized uniforms.

Slowly, carefully, he made his way to the locker room, and waited for the room to be all clear before he decided to jump down through the vent. It took a little while for all to be clear. There was a group of 5 slacker-trainees that were just hanging around talking about how hard their training group leader is, and how evil she is.

Heero rolled his eyes at all the stuff the trainees said about the trainer. He thought it was quite juvenile for them to be like that; to skip class, and then to discuss how the trainer was so mean to them. It was probably their fault that she was mean to them. They were the ones skipping all the time and getting her mad.

When they finally left, Heero lowered himself into the room where he landed between to large walls of lockers. They were bright orange lockers that looked only large enough to fit two basketballs into them. It didn't matter the size, though. All he needed was a uniform that would fit him.

He promptly picked a locker out and began to try and decipher the code for the lock on the latch. It took him roughly 15 minutes to get the locker open, during which there were many noises that startled him to think someone was coming. He couldn't afford to be caught, so he would quickly jump back into the ventilation shaft to hide from whatever it was.

He almost felt stupid for the way he was acting. He was this "emotionless" soldier. He was supposedly the "perfect" soldier. He was not supposed to be afraid of simple little noises produced by a far off person. He still didn't want to risk being caught until he got into the OZ uniform. Good thing there was one in his size.

Well… it wasn't really in his size. It was slightly larger than what he needed, but it still fit. He quickly got into the uniform and good thing, too, because right as he started to walk out of the locker, a whole group of OZ lieutenants walked into the room. He lowered his hat as they walked by, pretending to show respect by nodding his head. They didn't even look at him. He wasn't any of their concern; at least, that was what they thought.

After getting the uniform, he proceeded to walk into the west dorm corridor towards Duo's room. It was a round hallway. In that, it curved to the left all the way around in the direction Heero was going. If it continued to curve, it would continue as a circle, except that they didn't join, it was more like a giant loop that formed to look like a light bulb from an aerial view.

He walked down until he reached Duo's room. It was locked. He took out the piece of paper he had written the code on, and then typed the code into the keypad. He waited for the computer to calculate the code and then the door unlocked and he walked in.

The room was dark, empty, with only one bed in the room in the back corner. There was a small desk and a bed-side table. There was a door to a bathroom and a closet, but nothing only one thing out of the ordinary. There was a large trunk at the foot of his bed. A large leather trunk with the lock open.

The only light that was on prior to him walking in was a small night light that was also a fire alarm. He turned on the main light and then walked over to the trunk and knelt beside it. He put a hand on either side of the trunk lid, and slowly lifted it up.

Inside the trunk he saw so much black. Black was everywhere inside the trunk. He also found a small cigar box of photos. There was one that was of him and duo. Duo was hanging all over him in the picture. It was taken on New Year's Eve, right after midnight actually, and Duo was drunk off his ass. The picture made Heero smirk slightly and chuckle.

"Baka," was all he said as he shifted through the pictures and everything else. Then he stood up to gather everything else that was in his room. All of his hair ties, any little knick-knacks there were lying about… and his hair brush. He then proceeded to put the objects into the trunk. He took a pillow as well, since he had nothing comfortable like that at the OZ base he was staying at.

He picked up the trunk, made a last scan of the room, and then walked out, locking the door behind him. He noticed as people passing him would stare at him, possibly wondering what he was doing with the huge trunk. He just tilted his head down slightly so that the brim of the OZ hat would cover his eyes, and he just continued to walk towards where he had his Gundam.

He did have to walk a good 3 miles in distance through the twisting OZ base, and then through the forest to get to his Gundam. It took him about 30 minutes, and his hands were sore from holding the trunk the same way the entire time. But he didn't let it faze him, because he needed to get back to the Gundam without being distracted at all.

By the time he got back to his Gundam, he already had a message from Quatre which read as follows:

"_Heero, Trowa has succeeded in getting Duo to convince Relena in letting him escort her back in a private helicopter. We will be proceeding with the plan immediately. We should arrive at the coordinates in roughly 50 minutes. Do not respond."_

Heero deleted the message and proceeded to prepare for lift off and for his return to the abandoned OZ base. He made sure the trunk was safely secured in an empty area behind the chair in his cock-pit then he strapped himself in and started to warm up the engines for lift off.

He waited a few minutes while the motor softly hummed, then he thought, and thought, and wondered. What would he do if Duo had cut off his hair? His beautiful long chestnut locks that he couldn't bear to see Duo without. He loved Duo's hair. Heero believed that it was his hair that made him Duo. Equally true, without the hair, Duo would cease to exist.

He reached his hands out to place them on the main controls of the Gundam and he hung his head, thinking about Duo. He quickly, however, shook free the thought of his hair being so important that Duo wouldn't exist without it, and he pressed the foot petals and started to lift off towards the base he was staying at. It would take him about 30 minutes to get there, he would get himself some food once there, so he estimated that he would have about ten minutes to spare before Quatre and Trowa arrived with Duo.

-In the Helicopter, same day-

"Thank you ever so much for escorting me back, Mister Maxwell." She smiled, looking quite innocent, but inside that twisted little head of hers, she was thinking of how exactly to use Duo as a way to get Heero now… or maybe she would just use him to show Heero that Duo had forgotten all about him. Yes, that's what she would do. She would show how Duo had forgotten him, and then he would be hers!

Duo nodded as he removed his hat and scratched an itch right by one of the hairpins in his braid. "Think nothing of it. An officer, actually, asked me to escort you home so that nothing could happen. It was also a good idea that they used this unmarked helicopter." He set his hat in his lap and then folded his arms over his waist, closing his eyes and thinking. Well… he wasn't really thinking. He was just clearing his mind and meditating.

Then a voice came over a speaker in the sitting area of the helicopter. "We will be arriving Miss Dorlian's estate momentarily Mister Maxwell. I have been asked to inform you that your departing comments must be kept to a minimum, since you have been asked to return quickly." It was Quatre. He sounded a little shaky. Maybe because the turbulence was a little heavy or because he was worried about Duo. But whatever the case, he knew that he should trust Heero's plans. They always worked out in the past, so why shouldn't it work now?

Duo just gave a quick "Thank you" and leaned his head back, resting as Relena watched him with an evil twinkle in her eye. She was cooking up some plan to get Heero. She never quit… She never would. Heero was getting ready to do what he promised.

In the cockpit of the helicopter, Quatre had turned off the microphone and was just talking with Trowa. Well… actually… he was more than talking. He was getting a little intimate. "Trowa-kun… When we're all done with this little mission… I think we should go back to that base in Saudi Arabia and have a little fun…" He smiled, with that look a child gets when asking for a quarter to get a gumball.

Trowa looked over for a bit, smiling one of his thousand-dollar smiles as he seemed to agree with Quatre's little offer. "Of course we can, Quat-kun." He smiled and looked back to where they were flying. They were getting close to landing and that's when he looked back quickly to Quatre before looking back to his target and then he spoke again. "Would you be interested in something maybe a little more intimate after we're done?" he smiled again, one of his rare beautiful smiles.

Quatre almost jumped with joy were it not for his seat belt. But surely, if there wasn't one there, he would have… and then hit the ceiling. The little blonde boy was definitely a ball of energy waiting to explode. "Of course I would, Trowa-kun! What did you have in mind?" Quatre got that sultry sound in his voice as he leaned closer to Trowa, almost suggesting a 'plan of action'.

Trowa chuckled and put his right arm around Quatre's shoulder and then kissed his forehead. But Quatre knew this was coming so leaned his head up so that his lips could meet Trowa's. Trowa was a little shocked and his other hand almost slipped of the controls. But he smiled at the blonde boy and then went back to piloting. "There will be plenty of time for that later, Quatre. I promise."

Quatre was getting giddy and a little bit aroused from all this. He sat back in his seat and tried hard to maintain his excitement. And as he tried, Trowa had given a soft landing right behind Relena's estate. Quatre didn't feel the landing, so it took him a little while to turn on the microphone and speak up. "We've landed, Sir. Remember to keep it short, Mister Maxwell."

Duo sighed a bit, almost annoyed, and responded, "I know…" he grumbled and then waited as Quatre came around, opening the door for Relena to step out. Quatre made sure to keep a hat with a brim on, the brim tilted down, as a sign of respect but also a way to hide who he was.

Duo stepped out first and then held his hand out for Relena. He helped her out of the helicopter then walked her to the door of her estate. He then opened the door for her there. "Thank you for allowing me to escort you home safely, Miss Dorlian."

Relena smiled and nodded her head. "No problem. And please call me Relena. There is no need for formalities with me, Duo Maxwell." She grinned, another hint of evil behind her eyes, as she turned and went inside her house. Duo closed the door and then started to walk away when his step was interrupted by Relena calling back to him.

"Duo! Can I ask a question?" She said, leaning out the door as Duo turned half way to look at her.

"Yes, of course." He said, being kind enough to walk back closer to her so that he could hear her question better, and so that she wouldn't have to raise her voice for her to be heard.

"You said you don't remember any of your past, correct?" Duo nodded. "Well… I have a few friends who are scientists, maybe they can help track down your past by use of a DNA sample. Of course, you would have to stay a moment more to give a sample."

Duo nodded, thanking her, and then held his hand up. "If a DNA sample is what you need, you may have a strand of my hair. That should have all of the DNA you need. He pulled one long hair out and handed it to her. She grumbled a bit, wanting him to stay so she could continue with her evil little scheme. But she took the hair and managed a smile, nodding. She then quickly turned and walked inside, slamming the door.

Duo shrugged and sighed… he didn't know why she was so upset. He wondered if people were nicer to him back before he lost his memory. But he was remembering more things… He remembered that he was an orphan, so he didn't know how a DNA sample and search would help him at all.

He walked back to the helicopter. Quatre was still holding the door open, but he had taken his hat off by now since Relena wasn't around. Duo stopped before getting into the helicopter and looked at Quatre. "Do I know you?" He asked Quatre, whom was startled and a little bit scared from the question.

"Um… I've been working with OZ for a while, Mister Maxwell… You might just notice me from around there." Duo narrowed his eyes and the nodded and stepped into the helicopter. Quatre closed the door and sighed with relief as he went back and sat next to Trowa.

Trowa looked over, seeing the look on Quatre's face and wondered if the boy was ok. "Are you alright, Quatre? You look like you've seen a ghost," Trowa said as he started the helicopter and started to fly away, but in the opposite direction from the base that Duo was at before.

Quatre nodded, relaxing a bit now. "Yes… I didn't see a ghost… but I think Duo just did… a ghost from his past." He sighed again, worried now. "He recognized me, but only slightly… he didn't know who I was, but he knew that he was familiar with me."

Trowa reached over and patted Quatre's thigh. Quatre blinked and looked down at Trowa's hand, which was rather high on his thigh and even a little inward. Quatre blushed and looked over at Trowa. "You always know how to get my mind onto higher things." He chuckled at his attempt at a pun.

Trowa chuckled a bit as well, but mostly just to amuse his adorable Quat-kun. "Don't worry about that right now, Quatre… just turn the gas on." Quatre nodded and then turned on a button which let out a sleeping gas in the seating area where Duo was.

In the seating area, Duo was thinking about the blonde boy who was holding the door. He thought, trying to figure out why he recognized the boy. _Why? Why am I suddenly seeing so many familiar faces? And that boy… he seemed shocked, almost frightened, when I said he looked familiar… maybe he was just startled._

_A lot of people lately have been saying that they recognize me… Miss Dorlian, her butler… They say they know me, but they don't seem at all familiar to me. I would assume that anyone I knew before my amnesia would stick out in my mind a little more… or maybe I didn't want to remember them for some reason…_

He thought more, letting out his bun and running his fingers through his hair. He noticed they were going the wrong way and he turned on the speaker so he could talk to the pilot. He didn't speak right away because he heard two voices, not one. The voices were talking about him. He heard them mention his past, and he wondered if maybe they knew him. Maybe they could give him some answers!

He started to talk and then he coughed, breathing in the gas. The speaker and microphone was still on as he yelled out "What's going on?!" He coughed, holding his mouth and nose, stumbling a bit to the wide open floor of the seating area. It didn't take long for the gas to take effect as he fell to the floor of the seating area, unconscious from the gas.

During which time, Quatre had heard the screams and cries for help because Duo had turned on the intercom. He was worried and looked over to Trowa as if for support. Trowa looked at Quatre and nodded a bit. "It's ok, Quatre," he assured him, "he'll be ok."

-Same day-

Heero was just finished setting up all of Duo's things in an empty bedroom at the base he was at when he heard his laptop ring, signifying that he had a message. He walked over and clicked a button as a voice message started playing.

"_It's Quatre. We have dropped Relena of, and Duo's unconscious in the seating area of the helicopter. We're about two minutes from there. We'll meet you at the southwest entrance. We need to act fast, as well… Duo recognized me. We'll discuss everything in person. See you soon. Love Quatre Trowa and Trowa"_

The computer beeped and said in a computer tone "end of message." Heero sighed. Quatre seemed very worried… but then again he had mentioned that Duo recognized him, so of course he should be worried. Heero erased the message and then walked to the southwest entrance just in time to watch Trowa turn off the motor and step out of the helicopter once the blades had slowed down.

Heero had his arms crossed, as usual, and he nodded to Trowa and Quatre as Quatre had signaled Heero over. Heero seemed hesitant but walked over to them. When there, Quatre smiled and hugged him. It was quite a shock. Heero didn't know why, and Trowa was almost aghast.

"Is Duo going to be ok? He… I think he heard me and Trowa talking about him… He had turned on the intercom, and we heard him yelling when we turned on the gas." Trowa almost rolled his eyes in humor at the adorable blonde boy's worries. Heero just kinda looked sullen and gave Quatre a quick hug back and then peeled him off.

"I think Duo will be fine… we just need to get him inside… quickly. I'm sure Treize is wondering where his new Number One lackey is, so we have to get him inside before they send out troops to find him," Heero said as Quatre nodded and Trowa opened the door to the helicopter to let the left-over knock-out gas out.

Heero walked over and peered in. His breath almost caught in his throat as he saw Duo's beautiful long chestnut locks strolling down and draping over his upper body. A few strands were over his face. Heero looked over Duo's face for what seemed like forever. When the gas cleared, he climbed into the helicopter and brushed some of the hairs out of Duo's face.

Duo looked like a fallen angel… or was he a blessed demon? Whatever the case, he looked beautiful. His eyes were only barely closed and his mouth was slightly open. Heero put a hand to Duo's cheek and Duo responded by turning a bit onto his back. Heero gasped and jumped back a bit, looking back at Trowa and Quatre, then back to Duo.

Heero smiled a bit and then pulled the long-haired boy into his arms and climbed out of the helicopter. Quatre was looking at Heero with concern, but Trowa was just watching. Heero gave an assuring nod to them as he walked back into the base.

He walked along the maze-like corridors until he reached the room he had prepared for Duo. Along the way, Duo had surprisingly wrapped his arms around Heero's neck. It made Heero jump a bit and freeze when Duo did it. He wondered if Duo was awake… but he waited a bit longer and Duo did not stir, so he continued walking.

When he reached the room, he walked in and set Duo down on the bed. He stripped him of the OZ uniform and put him into a simple black slacks and black tank-top; something a little more Duo-ish. Then he tucked Duo into the bed and walked out, locking the door from the outside so that Duo couldn't get out.

When he exited the room, Quatre and Trowa were standing there, watching him. Quatre was looking worried, but Heero assured him with another nod, then spoke. "He'll be fine… I took his OZ uniform off and put him into some of his old clothes… then put him in bed. I've locked the door from the outside so that he can't escape. We want him awake for phase two."

Heero started walking away, but was stopped by a question.

"What's phase two?" It was Trowa asking, Quatre nodding, wanting to know the answer to that question as well.

Heero turned back and looked at them. "Phase two is when we try and bring his memory back… the best thing we can do is just try a few different methods. Maybe seeing me will bring his memory back… maybe seeing all of us will bring his memory back."

He started to walk away again, but then stopped and looked back. "Maybe we should get in contact with everyone to get them here… including Wufei. But obviously Relena won't help, since he has already been around her enough."

TBC


End file.
